Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

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Chase Ultimate Rewards is a transferable points program available through a number of Chase cards.  In my comparison of transferable points programs, Chase Ultimate Rewards came out ahead of Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Capital One “Miles.”  Chase offers a great combination of easy-to-earn points and both easy and valuable point redemptions.  Those who are primarily interested in luxury international award flights will likely do even better with Amex, but if you’re interested in hotel awards, domestic flights, or miscellaneous travel value, Chase is a great pick.

Chase updated their Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards in August 2021 with new point earning opportunities and perks.  For the Sapphire Preferred in particular, this helps to at least bring the card on-par with the fee-free Freedom cards which Chase updated in 2020.

Chase’s Ultimate Rewards points can be earned primarily via new account bonuses, referral bonuses, and credit card spend.  As long as you have at least one Ultimate Rewards card with an annual fee, those points can then be transferred to airline or hotel partners, used to pay for travel at better than 1 cent per point value.

Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about Chase Ultimate Rewards…

How To Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Credit Cards

The easiest and quickest way to earn Ultimate Rewards points is through Chase credit card signup bonuses, category bonuses, and refer-a-friend bonuses.  Of particular note are cards that earn 3X to 5X rewards within certain categories of spend: Chase Ink Cash (5X at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services), Chase Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex (3X dining and drugstore; and Flex adds 5X rotating categories), Chase Sapphire Preferred (3X dining, streaming & online grocery); Chase Sapphire Reserve (3X general travel and dining, and up to 10x select travel booked through Chase), Chase Ink Business Preferred (3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising). See our best category bonuses page for more detail and comparison.
Card Offer and Details
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
75K points
75K after $6K spend in 3 months

No Annual Fee

See: How to sign up for Chase Ink cards

Recent better offer: 90K after $6K in 3 months [Expired 3-20-23]

FM Mini Review: Great signup bonus for a fee-free card. Good option for earning 1.5X everywhere. Good companion card to Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred.


Card Type: Visa Signature Business

Base
Other

Earning rate: 1.5X on all purchases ⚬ 5X Lyft through through March 2025

See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
75K points
75K after $6K spend in 3 months

No Annual Fee

See: How to sign up for Chase Ink cards

Recent better offer: 90K after $6K in 3 months 90K after $6K in 3 months [Expired 3-20-23]

FM Mini Review: This one should be in everyone's wallet. Incredible signup bonus for a no-fee card. Great card for 5X categories. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred.


Card Type: Visa Signature Business

Base
Dine
Gas
Phone
Office
Other

Earning rate: 5X office supplies ⚬ 5X cellular/landline/cable (on up to $25,000 in total purchases in 5x categories annually) ⚬ 2X on the first $25K in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each cardmember year ⚬ 5X Lyft through March 2025

See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

FM Mini Review: Excellent all-around card for frequent traveler. Best when paired with no-fee Chase Freedom Flex, no-fee Freedom Unlimited & no-fee Chase Ink Cash


Card Type: Visa Infinite

Base
Travel
Dine
Other

Earning rate: 10X hotels & car rentals booked through Chase ⚬ 10X Chase Dining ⚬ 5X flights booked through Chase ⚬ 3X Travel and Dining ⚬ 10X Lyft (through March 2025)

Noteworthy perks: $300 Annual Travel Credit ⚬ Points worth 1.5 cents each towards travel or Pay Yourself Back ⚬ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ⚬ Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ⚬ Priority Pass Select lounge access ⚬ $100 Global Entry fee credit ⚬ $5 monthly DoorDash in-app credit through December 2024 ⚬ Free DashPass through 2025 ⚬ Earn 10X on Lyft spend⚬ Free Lyft Pink All Access Memberhsip through December 2024 ⚬ $15 monthly Instacart credit ⚬ 12 months free Instacart+ ⚬ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23)

See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
60K points
60K after $4K spend in 3 months

$95 Annual Fee

FM Mini Review: Great signup bonus. Unlocks ability to transfer points to hotel & airline partners. Solid option to pair with fee-free Ultimate Rewards cards such as the Freedom cards, Ink Business Cash, and Ink Business Unlimited.


Card Type: Visa Signature

Base
Travel
Dine
Other

Earning rate: 5X Travel booked through Chase (2X all other travel) ⚬ 3X Dining ⚬ 3X Select streaming services ⚬ 3X Online grocery ⚬ 5X Lyft (through March 2025) ⚬ 10% annual point bonus

Noteworthy perks: Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ⚬ Free DashPass through 2025 ⚬ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ⚬ $50 annual credit for hotel stays booked through Chase ⚬ $15 quarterly Instacart credit ⚬ 6 months free Instacart+ ⚬ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23)

See also: Sapphire Preferred 100K Q&A: Everything you need to know

Chase Ink Business Preferred Card
100K points
100K after $15K spend in 3 months

$95 Annual Fee

See: How to sign up for Chase Ink cards

Recent better offer: 80K after $5K spend. Many preferred the 80K offer due to the much lower spend requirement

FM Mini Review: Great card for signup bonus and 3X categories. Also consider the fee-free Ink Business Cash for its 5X categories, and the fee-free Ink Business Unlimited to earn 1.5X everywhere.


Card Type: Visa Signature Business

Base
Travel
Phone
Biz
Other

Earning rate: 3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year) ⚬ 5X Lyft through March 2025

Noteworthy perks: ⚬ Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel ⚬ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ⚬ Cell phone protection against theft or damage

See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

Chase Freedom Unlimited
20K points + 15 months 0% APR
Earn 20,000 points (worth $200 cash back) after spending $500 in the first 3 months + 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.24% - 27.999%.

No Annual Fee

This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Even though this card is marketed as a cash back card, it actually earns Ultimate Rewards points which are redeemable for 1 cent each, or can be combined with other Ultimate Rewards-earning cards to get even more value. This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.

Info about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.

Alternate offer: Extra 1.5% cashback on up to $20,000 in purchases within the first year (up to $300 cash back)

Recent better offer: 20K points + 5x grocery stores for the first year on up to $12K in qualifying purchases

FM Mini Review: Great for 3x categories and 1.5X everywhere else. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred.


Card Type: Visa Signature or Platinum

Base
Travel
Dine
Other

Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase ⚬ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ⚬ 3x dining ⚬ 3x drugstores ⚬ 1.5X everywhere else

Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ⚬ $10 quarterly Instacart credit ⚬ 3 months free Instacart+ ⚬ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23)

See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

Chase Freedom Flex
20K points + 15 months 0% APR
Earn 20,000 points (worth $200 cash back) after spending $500 in the first 3 months + 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.24% - 27.99%.

No Annual Fee

Be sure to select the card you want after clicking through. This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Even though this card is marketed as a cash back card, it actually earns Ultimate Rewards points which are redeemable for 1 cent each, or can be combined with other Ultimate Rewards-earning cards to get even more value. This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.

Info about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy.

Recent better offer: 20K points + 5x grocery stores for the first year on up to $12K in qualifying purchases

FM Mini Review: Great for 5X and 3x categories and World Mastercard benefits. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred.


Card Type: Mastercard World

Base
Dine
Shop
Other

Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase ⚬ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ⚬ 3x dining ⚬ 3x drugstores ⚬ 5X in rotating categories on up to $1,500 spend per quarter (Q2 2023: Amazon, Whole Foods In-Store and Lowe's)

Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ⚬ Cell phone protection ⚬ Lyft credits ⚬ $10 quarterly Instacart credit ⚬ 3 months free Instacart+ ⚬ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23)

See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

All of the cards listed above earn Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred to travel partners provided you have at least one Ultimate Rewards-earning card that has an annual fee.

There is an exception though. The Chase Ink Business Premier card earns Ultimate Rewards and has an annual fee. What’s important to know though is that Ultimate Rewards earned on that particular card (a charge card rather than a credit card) aren’t transferable – they can only be redeemed for cash or some other redemption options.

Card Offer and Details
Chase Ink Business Premier℠
$1,000 Cash Back
$1K after $10K Spend in 3 Months

$195 Annual Fee

FM Mini Review: This is an almost 1 to 1 copy of Capital One's Spark Cash Plus card, but the Chase card throws in 2.5% earnings on very large purchases. Unfortunately, the Chase card also has a slightly higher annual fee. The biggest disappointment about this card is that, unlike other Chase Ink cards, the rewards cannot be moved to other Chase cards to improve their value. Even though this card technically earns Ultimate Rewards points, it's best to think of it as a straight up cash back card.


Card Type: Visa Signature Business Charge Card

Base
2%
Other
5%

Earning rate: 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more ⚬ 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards ⚬ 2% cash back on all other spend

Noteworthy perks: Purchase protections ⚬ Cell phone protection (up to $1K per claim) ⚬ Travel protections

Ultimate Rewards cards no longer available to new applicants

Card Name w Details & Review (no offer)
Chase Ink Plus® Business Credit Card

Annual Fee: First year free, then $95

Card Type: Visa Signature Business

Base
Travel
Gas
Phone
Office
Other

Earning rate: ⚬ 5X office supplies, 5X cellular/landline/cable ⚬ 2X gas and hotels ⚬ 5X Lyft through March 2025

Noteworthy perks: ⚬ Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel ⚬ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners

See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

Card Name w Details & Review (no offer)
Chase Freedom Visa

FM Mini Review: Great for 5X categories. Good companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred.


Annual Fee: $0

Card Type: Visa Signature or Platinum

Base
Shop
Other

Earning rate: 5X Lyft through March 2025; 5X in rotating categories on up to $1,500 spend per quarter (Q2 2023: Amazon, Whole Foods In-Store and Lowe's).

Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ⚬ $10 quarterly Instacart credit ⚬ 3 months free Instacart+ ⚬ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23)

See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide

Bank Products

Some Chase banking products also earn Ultimate Rewards points bonuses.  If you can find a good signup bonus (like this expired one), you can earn as many as 60,000 points that way.  Similar offers occasionally surface for things like new mortgage accounts, though you’ll want to be sure you’re getting the best rate along with your points.

Chase Ultimate Rewards 2020 Complete Guide Banking

Keep in mind that points earned through banking are generally taxable.  However, unlike points earned from Citi’s banking products, Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned from bank account bonuses can be transferred to airline partners or combined with another member of your household.

Refer Friends

Referring friends is often a good way to earn extra points with Chase products, but referral offers come and go over time.  When referral offers are available, Chase sends emails to eligible cardholders with the offer details.  Cardholders can also look for Chase friend referral offers here.

Redeem Points

Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for cash.  That said, there are a few ways in which it is possible to get more value:

  • “Pay Yourself Back”: Up to 1.5 cents per point value.
  • Redeem points for travel: Up to 1.5 cents per point value.
  • Transfer points to airline and hotel partners: Value depends on how your airline or hotel points are used.
  • Redeem points for gift cards: A selection of brands go on sale for 10% off each month, although in many cases you’d be better off redeeming points for cash and buying the gift cards for more than 10% off elsewhere.

Move Points to a Premium Card First

Points earned on fee-free Ultimate Rewards cards are not directly eligible for any of the above better-than-one-cent-per-point redemptions, but you can move points first to a premium card (Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, for example) or ultra-premium card (Sapphire Reserve) in order to get the best value from your points.  In fact, you only need one premium or ultra-premium card per household since points can be freely moved from one card to another within a single household.  A family working together, for example, could have a single Sapphire Reserve card and use that one card as the vehicle for redeeming points.  All points earned on the family’s other Ultimate Rewards cards (Freedom, Ink, etc.) would be moved to the Sapphire Reserve account for that purpose.

Pay Yourself Back

Chase allows most Sapphire, Freedom, and Ink cardholders to “Pay Yourself Back”. The basic idea is that you can exchange your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for statement credits against certain categories of purchases. Here’s the link to use this feature yourself.

Chase changes or renews the eligible categories every few months. When using this feature, Sapphire Reserve cardholders get 1.25 cents per point value for most categories, and all other eligible cardholders get 1 cent per point value. Chase used to offer 1.5 cents per point value for Sapphire Reserve cardholders and 1.25 cents per point value for Sapphire Preferred cardholders.  That was a decent deal.  With the lower redemption values in play today, we no longer recommend this option. More details about Chase's Pay Yourself Back feature can be found here.

Travel

With the right credit card, you can get more than 1 cent per point in value when redeeming for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal:

Redeeming points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal

With many no-annual-fee Chase credit cards, you can redeem points for travel booked via Chase Ultimate Rewards at a rate of just 1 cent per point (or you could alternatively book travel anywhere and cash out your points for a statement credit at a value of $0.01 each). As an example, if you have a card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, a $600 flight would cost you about 60,000 points. See this example of a flight that costs $601.20 or 60,120 Ultimate Rewards points. However, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred card, you'll get 1.25 cents per point value. The same example flight would cost just 48,096 points when booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. You'll get the most value with the Chase Sapphire Reserve at 1.5 cents per point. The same example flight would cost just 40,080 points with the CSR when booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. Cardholders can book airfare, hotels, cruises, and car rentals in this way. Airfare purchased via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal still earns airline miles and elite qualifying miles.  Hotels booked this way do not earn hotel rewards.  Worse, hotels booked via the Ultimate Rewards portal often will not offer you elite benefits even if you have status.
Fortunately, when you pay with points for travel, Chase's automatic travel protections do apply.  So, you can be covered for things like trip delays, trip cancellation & interruption, lost luggage, etc.  The coverage you receive will be based on which card's rewards were used to book the trip. For example, if you have both a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Sapphire Reserve, you would want to move your Ultimate Rewards points from the Preferred to the Reserve and then use the Reserve points to book your trip. You will get both better value (1.5 cents per point) and better travel protections.
The following chart summarizes travel insurance provided automatically by each Ultimate Rewards card. Cells in green indicate best in class coverage, yellow indicates good coverage, red indicates worse than peers' coverage. "Pay partial" means that you can get full coverage even if you pay only part of your transportation costs with this card. For example, you could pay just the taxes and fees for an award flight. Or, you could pay part of a cruise with gift cards and the rest with the credit card. See Ultimate Rewards credit card travel insurance for a more detailed comparison beyond this chart summary.
Sapphire Reserve Sapphire Preferred Ink Business Preferred Ink Cash, Ink Business Unlimited Freedom, Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver Primary Primary Primary for Business* Primary for Business* Secondary*
Roadside Assistance 4X per year limit Pay per use Pay per use Pay per use Pay per use
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Pay partial Pay partial Pay partial N/A Pay partial
Trip Delay 6 hour delay Pay partial 12 hour delay Pay partial 12 hour delay Pay partial N/A N/A
Lost Luggage Pay partial Pay partial Pay partial N/A N/A
Baggage Delay 6 hour delay Pay partial 6 hour delay Pay partial 6 hour delay Pay partial 6 hour delay Pay partial N/A
Travel Accident Insurance Pay partial Pay partial Pay partial Pay partial N/A
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation $100K limit Pay partial N/A N/A N/A N/A
Emergency Medical and Dental $2,500 limit Pay partial N/A N/A N/A N/A

* Each of these cards offers primary coverage outside of your country of residence.  Unfortunately, the Ink Cash, Ink Business Unlimited, Freedom, Freedom Flex, and Freedom Unlimited cards all incur foreign transaction fees outside of your country of residence.
If you would like to use points earned on other cards with a card like the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve, combine your Ultimate Rewards points with other cards in your name or with one other member of your household or business partner.

Transfer points

The best use of Ultimate Rewards points, in my opinion, is to transfer points to airline and hotel partners in order to book high value awards.  Your best bet is usually to wait until you find a great flight or night award before transferring points. Points transfer at a ratio of 1:1 as shown in the list of transfer partners below. Keep in mind that while transfers are instantly posted to most loyalty programs, transfers to Singapore Krisflyer and Marriott Bonvoy are not instant.

Current transfer bonuses

If there are any current transfer bonuses from Chase Ultimate Rewards, details will appear here:

Transfer Bonus DetailsEnd Date
Chase: 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic2023/06/15

Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners

Rewards ProgramBest Uses
Aer Lingus AviosFuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus (Avios.com) rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.  See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.
Air Canada AeroplanRedeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know.
Air France KLM Flying BlueMonthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel.
British Airways AviosWhile flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.
Emirates SkywardsThe best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be steep. See: Emirates Sweet Spot Awards - First class from 30K miles round trip.
HyattUse for Hyatt free nights, free suite nights, lounge upgrades, or suite upgrades. Hyatt points are often worth at least 2 cents each, but they’re sometimes worth far more. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees.
Iberia AviosIberia offers very low award prices on their own flights and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets.
IHGIHG dynamically prices their awards and sometimes offer very good value. IHG Premier and IHG Premier Business cards offer the fourth night free on award stays.
JetBlueJetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards.
Marriott Bonvoy5th Night Free awards. Opportunities to get outsized value exist but can be hard to find.
Qatar Privilege Club AviosQatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia)
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyerUse to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines).
Southwest Rapid RewardsAward flights are fully refundable. Point values vary due to certain taxes not being charged on awards, but tend to average around 1.5 cents per point.
United MileagePlusUnited offers free award changes and free cancelations. Like Avianca and Aeroplan, United never charges fuel surcharges for awards. Unfortunately, United charges many more miles for international first class awards. Good uses of miles include United's Excursionist Perk awards and (sometimes) dynamically priced United economy awards.
Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubVirgin Atlantic offers a few great sweet spot awards including US to Europe on Delta One business class for 50K points one-way. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight).

Cash back

Chase Ultimate Rewards cardholders can redeem points for 1 cent each either as statement credits or as cash back. Cash back can be taken as a statement credit or via check or ACH transfer.

Other ways to redeem points

Through the Ultimate Rewards portal you can redeem points for cash back, gift cards, merchandise, or experiences.  With this approach you'll usually get 1 cent per point value.  One exception is that Chase occasionally offers gift cards at a discount so you may be able to get better than 1 cent per point value during a gift card sale.
You can also use points to pay some merchants directly (Amazon.com, for example or via Chase Pay).  Don't do this.  These options offer very poor value. Further, they may compromise the security of your account (i.e. if someone hacks into your Amazon account, they might spend your Ultimate Rewards points - causing you a headache in getting your points reinstated).

Sweet spot awards

Our post, Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots, details the best value uses of Chase Ultimate Rewards. Either click here or click below to jump to a section of the post:

Manage Points

Combine Points Across Cards

If you are the primary account holder with multiple cards, you can freely combine Ultimate Rewards back and forth between your accounts.  Your points can then be redeemed according to the card to which you move them.  For example, if you have the no-fee Ink Business Cash card and the ultra-premium Sapphire Reserve card, you can earn 5X points per dollar on office supply purchases (or on gift cards purchased at office supply stores) with the Ink Card and then move those points to your Sapphire Reserve account to redeem them for 1.5 cents per point towards travel.
If you intend to cancel a Chase Ultimate Rewards card, you should first combine your points with a card you intend to keep active. Once you cancel, you will forfeit any unused points in that account (See: My 90,000 Ultimate Rewards Points mistake). A product change should not affect your balance, but some people prefer moving points before a product change as well just to be safe.

Share Points Across Cardholders

Chase allows customers to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to any other account in that customer's name or to one additional household member or joint business owner (for free).  You do need to call Chase the first time you transfer points to a different person's account, but once that's been done once, you can transfer more points online in the future.
share Chase Ultimate Rewards with friends Why this is valuable:
  • You earn points with the card offering the best return on purchases and then use points with the card offering the best redemption rate.
  • Only one member of your household needs to maintain a premium card for transferring to partners or booking travel (though note that the primary cardholder can only transfer points to partner loyalty programs in the name of the primary cardholder or authorized users).

How to Keep Points Alive

Thankfully, it is very easy to keep Chase Ultimate Rewards points alive: simply keep the points in an open Ultimate Rewards account and they will not expire. Note that if you close an Ultimate Rewards card, you will lose any points associated with that card. You should first combine points to move points away from the card you intend to close and to another card that will remain open as per the sharing section above before canceling. See: My 90,000 point Ultimate Rewards mistake. See also: A checklist for cancelling credit cards.

More information

Chase’s official Ultimate Rewards page can be found here.

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cynrab

Is it possible to buy an United Air ticket on the CHASE Travel Portal using a combination of UR Points and a Chase United Quest Card to receive the 2 free checked baggage benefit?

It appears that when purchasing a ticket on Chase Portal with points and credit card, Chase then goes and buys the ticket at United using their own institutional credit card (i.e. ending in 8909) and the United reservation does not show the original United Quest card that was used to pay on the Chase Portal. Thus, baggage benefits are not recognized.

Any help/experience with this is appreciated…

Cameron

I’m having trouble combining points with my wife. We’ve got..
Sapphire Reserve (me, no authorized users)
Sapphire Preferred (wife, no authorized users)
Freedom Unlimited (me, wife is authorized user).

I have no issue transferring between Freedom Unlimited to Sapphire Reserve, but I can’t get the points from Sapphire Preferred to transfer. The Freedom Unlimited doesn’t show up in her login. I tried through secure message requesting to combine and they told me I could and when I gave them the Reserve account number, they told me this:

the “move to” account is associated with another account.

Which of course it is, that’s why I’m trying to combine them. Any suggestions how I respond??

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Vince

Does anyone know when Chase will be dropping Expedia (with their acquisition of CX Loyalty)?

[…] Read all about Chase Ultimate Rewards points here: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide 2020. […]

[…] does charge foreign transaction fees so leave it at home when traveling internationally.  See our Chase Ultimate Rewards Guide for more […]

[…] The Freedom Unlimited card is unique among Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards in that you’ll earn a minimum of 1.5 points per dollar for all spend while also earning 3 to 5 points per dollar within specific bonus categories. Chase advertises the Freedom Unlimited as a cash back card, but it actually earns Ultimate Rewards points. When paired with a premium card, the points earned with the Freedom Unlimited card become more valuable. You can freely move your points to a premium card in order to get better than 1 cent per point value for travel. For example, if you move points to a household member’s Sapphire Reserve card, you can get 1.5 cents per point value. In that situation, the Freedom Unlimited earns between 2.25% (1.5 cents per point X 1.5 points per dollar) and 7.5% in rewards! See our Chase Ultimate Rewards Guide for details. […]

[…] See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide […]

[…] Since the Amex gold card earns 3 additional points for grocery purchases when compared to either the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve, you would look at the “+3” row to see the cents per point value you would get by using your Sapphire card and then paying yourself back with points.  With the Sapphire Preferred card you would get 1.2 cents per point value and with the Sapphire Reserve you would get 1.44 cents per point value.  Either way, that’s far more value than most points program offer to cash out points so I’d argue that for most people it’s still worth it (unless you’re keeping your points for more valuable transfer partners) […]

[…] all-new Chase Freedom Flex Mastercard is now live.  Within Chase’s family of Ultimate Rewards cards, this one replaces the Freedom Visa.  The Freedom Visa was a good card thanks to its rotating 5X […]

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Johnny

What am I missing? 1st year gain on Flex is $293? Shouldn’t it be closer to $800 ($200 SUB, $12,000 x 5% = 60,000 points)
actually, run it through CSR it’s closer to $1,200.

Greg The Frequent Miler

Good catch! I forgot to include the grocery bonus in the calculation. Fixed.

Joseph Giorgianni

I booked a Hilton suite for 37,000 points that was supposedly costing $470. However Hotels.com showed it for $220. And the place was a dump – I took pictures. Do I have any recourse with Chase?

Greg The Frequent Miler

That’s not fun. It can’t hurt to try calling Chase, but my guess is that you’re out of luck

[…] of these three she will have the ability again to transfer points to loyalty programs.  See our Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide for […]

Kayexelate

Hi NIck: I am currently a Business Ink Cardholder and my wife is second cardholder on that account. She will be applying for a chase sapphire preferred account soon. I plan on closing my Business ink card next month before the AF. How do I transfer my UR points to her so I can keep them alive before I cancel my card?

Greg The Frequent Miler

Once your wife’s Sapphire account is open, you can transfer your points to her account either online (go to Ultimate Rewards, then Combine Points) or by calling.

[…] can be found here.  More details can be found in our World of Hyatt Complete Guide.  Those with Chase Ultimate Rewards points can transfer to Hyatt 1 to […]

[…] If the oldest daughter does successfully get an Ink card, she could move her points to her parent’s Sapphire Reserve card account in order to maximize the value of the points.  Note that with multiple people in a household wanting to move points, you may have to create a loop.  For example, the daughter transfers points to Jan’s account and Jan transfers points to her husband’s account (if her husband has the Sapphire Reserve account, for example).  Nick detailed this process in our Ultimate Rewards Guide, here. […]

[…] Chase Ultimate Rewards: Points can be transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt as long as you have one of the premium or ultra-premium Chase Ultimate Rewards cards.  These include: Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred, and Ink Plus.  For details, see: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide. […]

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Mark

I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, my wife has one also, and I also have a Chase Ink card. All have points. I am trying to combine points into my card, from the other two. But each try gives me the error about my card being ineligible. And there are no linked accounts to remove and there is no place to link an account, as shown in the screenshots in the article. I’m stuck.

[…] phenomenal.  You can transfer points to Virgin Atlantic 1 to 1 from Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou […]

YoniPDX


( or @Greg @Steve )

Saw this right around the Lyft Pink, Door Dash AF increase rollout in the app but can’t find anything about it. (Also been sick and family last week+ so just catching up).

4th night free and late checkout and $30 off??? See ss in link

http://flic.kr/p/2iiBDyt

Bret

@ Nik
I though I read/heard that you can’t self-refer? I have 1 Business with the old Ink Preferred and want to refer a second Business to one of the new Ink products to a referral bonus. Any experiences with that?

rich

“You can also use points to pay some merchants directly”. And yet on some sites (obviously non FF sites) some people are happy to do this.

Although in some cases people have more points than need. I knew a guy that had a few businesses and would churn expenses (legitimate) through American Express cards and ended up with tens of millions of points on American Express. He often just cashes them in for short flights on Southwest. Go figure 🙂

Thanks for the info.

CaveDweller

A local BK place I TOAD him to get INK (United to Turkey) & SW loves them and all set ..Why do points if u Got’s Millions Take the $$$ and Go !!
CHEERs

MAlMel

One thing I never see mentioned that has cost me a couple of times is that when using the portal, the payment comes across to the airline as form of payment “travel agency” ( Expedia). On my recent trip last week on UA, this cost me checked bag fees. Even though I used a UA card as payment in the portal, it is not recognized.

Luckily, I had just changed my AX Platinum travel credit airline for 2020 to UA and paid for checked bags with AX.

I never seem to find a good use of the portal.

[…] See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide […]

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[…] a card owned by a household member or business partner.  They call this "combining points" (see: Combine Points Across Cards in our Ultimate Rewards […]

[…] For more about Chase Ultimate Rewards, I highly recommend reading this post: Chase Ultimate Rewards Guide. […]

[…] to highlight sweet spot awards available through each of the transferable points currencies: Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Amex Membership […]

Corinne

Nick, please help me with the loop you mentioned when combining points. I have read and reread this post SO MANY TIMES, I feel so embarrassed, but I just can not understand the last part of the loop where you say this:
Suzy’s Sapphire Reserve—>Joe’s Freedom Unlimited
Can you explain this part in more detail? Maybe others are like me and are lost on this part… I just don’t understand why you would move points back into Joe’s Freedom Unlimited.
I am trying to do a similar transfer, in my case it is my husband’s Sapphire Reserve we want to pool points into.
We both have multiple personal and business chase cards, and I want to make sure I do this transfer very methodically as I have an upcoming usage for the points. Thank you so much Nick, I really appreciate all that you and this blog has taught me to help our family of 6 go on adventures!

Frank

Yes, I need some help here too. I understood that one had to have a premium card to transfer points. But you are saying that if I have a premium card and my wife does not, then we can still transfer points from her to me in some fashion. The only thing would be that we cannot transfer points to her outside hotels or airline accounts … is that correct?

Greg The Frequent Miler

Yes, that’s correct

Frank

Thanks, Greg. That’s better than I thought. Although we do each have multiple transferable cards now.

Greg The Frequent Miler

That last part was just in case Suzy ever wants to move points to Joe. In most cases that step isn’t necessary. With only two people in the family, you can simply move all of your points to one of your cards and then move points from that one card to your husband’s card.

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[…] have focused more energy on earning Amex Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards than on earning Citi ThankYou points. I used up a bunch of ThankYou points over the past year and […]

tajar

My wife has the Sapphire Reserve and Ink Business cards but she is not able to transfer UR between the Reserve and Ink, any idea why ? We just get a processing error, not user friendly message. Is that not allowed ?

Greg The Frequent Miler

It’s definitely allowed. She should contact Chase for help.

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Jeff

Wife and I have Chase Sapphire Preferred for over 2 years now. We are under the 5/24 rule. Should I open a Chase Ink Business Preferred card (I do own a business)? And transfer the points over and eventually dump the sapphire preferred? Trying to accumulate points for a family Europe trip this summer. We currently have about 120k Chase points. Your post was very informative! Thanks.

phil

,
Since Chase switched to Expedia the available hotel rooms have dropped immensely. I checked numerous cities for next June/July and a majority are unavailable. Hope this changes.

phil

,
That’s great but when there is only 5-10% availability that defeats the purpose.

Also noticed that many activities are now missing. Used to be able to book many tours & airport shuttles in Hawaii. Now gone. 🙁

Barry

During the switch it seems like Chase took away a lot of the popular uses of points. They removed all of the Disney resorts, Spirit, Allegiant, Frontier, and Southwest. I wonder if they were loosing a lot of money on these redemptions.

Jeff

Southwest is a partner airline. They should allow you to transfer Chase Saphire Reserve (CSR) points to Southwest at a 1 to 1,5 pt rate until they get this straightened out. Otherwise, there is no reason to pay the CSR $450 fee if you use Southwest.

Dee Dee

I found this post and the earlier one on CITI Thank You so informative! Thank you! May I hope for another on AmEx rewards?

CarolSue Ayala

Chase Reserve’s trip cancellation insurance pays. It took a while but I just got a check for my entire claim for trip cancellation due to unexpected shoulder surgery. Woohoo!

CarolSue Ayala

Chase Reserve’s travel insurance pays. It took a while but I just got a check for my entire trip cancellation claim due to unexpected shoulder surgery. Woohoo!

Biggie F

Very helpful post — thanks. The transfer loop thing in particular is something I need to know, since like you, we have had trouble making some transfers within household. These were eventually fixed by just calling and having them do it over the phone. But not anyone’s preference…

Speaking of transfers, maybe under Transfer points, change first sentence to read “airline and hotel” partners…? Like all fanatics, I am prejudiced, but the 1-to-1 for Hyatt strikes me as one of the best things around. It’s amazing that that still exists in an environment where the ratio is the same for Marriott, not to mention IHG. So maybe “airline partners and Hyatt”?

Barry

I typically unlink my accounts after transferring points. I just relink when I want to move points. This is another way to avoid getting the error message.